Napa Cabbage Asian Salad

Spring is a season of renewal and growth. It is where we dust of the cobwebs of winter. We trade in our heavy jackets for hoodie sweatshirts, our casseroles for sandwiches, our heavy soups and stews for light and fresh salads. I love this season of change. I shared with you last week about my love for salads as the main course. This napa cabbage salad works as a wonderful side dish to compliment your dinner or it will stand up and be the main entree if that is what you ask of it. Versatile. I served it to my family as dinner one night and then mixed up another batch (without the chicken) to bring to a cookout last week. Same salad twice in one week.

Lately I have been loving making my own vinaigrettes. It is so easy and fun mixing up custom flavors to compliment whatever type of salad I am serving. A little oil + a little vinegar + some herbs, spices, or seasonings all tossed into a jelly jar, give it a quick shake and you have yourself a tasty vinaigrette or marinade. Easy peasy!

Some of this vinaigrette was used as a marinade for a few chicken breasts that I served on the salad. The ginger and soy flavors came through in the chicken. It was so tasty. I had two heaping bowls of salad for dinner and I may or may not have licked my bowl clean. This might be the best salad ever. Ever! It will be served many times this summer I have no doubt about that.

Recipe Notes

Omit the hoisin sauce and use gluten free soy sauce to make this a gluten free dish

Ingredients

for the salad

1 medium head Napa cabbage, thinly sliced

1 medium head iceberg lettuce, chopped into bite sized pieces

1-2 cups shredded carrots

1 cup cilantro leaves

1/3 cup scallions, chopped

1/2 cup slivered almonds

2-3 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

for the vinaigrette

3 tablespoons ginger, grated

1 tablespoon Sriracha

2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup canola oil

pinch of kosher salt

3 tablespoons scallions, thinly sliced

1/2 tablespoon black sesame seeds

1/2 tablespoon white sesame seeds

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Directions

Mix together the ginger, sriracha, hoisin, sesame oil, soy sauce, canola oil to make the marinade. Place chicken breasts in a ziplock bag add 1/4 cup of marinade. Squeeze out all the air and zip the bag close. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Add the scallions, sesame seeds, and vinegar to the marinade to transform it to a vinaigrette.

On a grill pan or frying pan heat over medium-high and cook chicken breasts about 4-5 minutes per side or until the juices run clear.

Once chicken is done cooking transfer to cutting board, let set for 10 minutes before cutting into thin strips.

In a large serving bowl toss together all the salad ingredients, top with sliced chicken, and drizzle a little vinaigrette over everything.